Finance Journo Martin Lewis Targets Facebook for Fake Bitcoin Ads

British financial journalist and TV personality Martin Lewis has announced that he will sue social media giant Facebook over a series of cryptocurrency ads featuring his image and his name.

Lewis, who is taking his case the UK High Court on Monday, claims that at least 50 ads have been released on Facebook endorsing financial products to which he has no connection and has not authorized. Lewis, who has made his name on British TV and in the media for advising consumers how to spend money wisely, ironically is not a cryptocurrency enthusiast, once saying,”Bitcoin is a highly speculative investment. You need to be prepared and think about your attitude to risk before you consider investing.”

The presenter has said that he is “disgusted beyond endurance” with the crypto ads and maintains that Facebook has made no attempt to address the problem:

“It is facilitating scams on a constant basis in a morally repugnant way. If [it] wants to be the champion of moral causes, then he needs to stop its [sic] company doing this.”

According to Facebook, this isn’t the case, arguing,”We do not allow adverts which are misleading or false on Facebook and have explained to Martin Lewis that he should report any adverts that infringe his rights, and they will be removed.”

The statement continued to point out that Facebook was in direct contact with the Lewis team, and was investigating their requests and had recently removed other ads which violated the new company advertising policy.

Facebook has recently introduced a ban on cryptocurrency advertising, but scammers are able to avoid filters that have been put in place. The scammers promote advertising that fools investors into schemes that tap into the burgeoning popularity of cryptocurrency.

The social media giant’s fortunes continue to take a downturn after the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal earlier this month. Lewis has said that should he win the case against Facebook, awarded damages will be donated to charities that fight against scams of this nature.

About us

Follow us

Welcome to BitcoinNews.com, we use cookies to gather and analyse information on site demographic, performance and usage. By Clicking "I agree” or by clicking into any content on this site, you agree to our privacy notice and allow cookies to be placed. Find out more.